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Some background, I'm dispensing from a 5 port manifold that's hooked up to a primary regulator. I'm getting really different pouring results from each faucet--one pours quite fast (there's a noticeable 'thunk' when the faucet opens), one sort of trickles out reasonably, one will start with a foam belch then settle down in a second, and one pours consistently foamy. I've sprayed all the fittings down and couldn't find any leaks there or along the line. I've tightened down all the nuts on the couplers and made sure all the connections are good. I've also swapped out the kegs on each faucet and had similar results, leading me to believe the problem is in the line system and not in the keg itself. For a test, I tried shutting off all the ports at the manifold except my foamy faucet, and that made it pour more normally.
I'm having a hard time with this on the force carbonation side of things too (identical 5-port manifold setup) where some drinks will carbonate quickly and others seem to barely carbonate at all when given the same time, temperature and pressure from the primary regulator. I've been compensating for this by turning up the pressure on that side (which I'm sure is wreaking havoc on the serving side, since I don't know for sure how many volumes are in my drink anymore).
So my questions: Is there an amount of pressure lost in the manifold when distributing 5 ways, or can I expect the same pressure coming out of each port as is going in? Is there a formula or some way of calculating the amount of pressure coming out for each port? Would adding secondary regulators before each keg let me compensate for lost pressure in the manifold (assuming that's what's causing the problems)?
other info: the fridge temp hovers around 34 - 36 F, my lines are all 3.5 ft, 3/16 inch ID tubing. This is my 'first rodeo', so apologies in advance if I seem slow on the uptake.
I'm having a hard time with this on the force carbonation side of things too (identical 5-port manifold setup) where some drinks will carbonate quickly and others seem to barely carbonate at all when given the same time, temperature and pressure from the primary regulator. I've been compensating for this by turning up the pressure on that side (which I'm sure is wreaking havoc on the serving side, since I don't know for sure how many volumes are in my drink anymore).
So my questions: Is there an amount of pressure lost in the manifold when distributing 5 ways, or can I expect the same pressure coming out of each port as is going in? Is there a formula or some way of calculating the amount of pressure coming out for each port? Would adding secondary regulators before each keg let me compensate for lost pressure in the manifold (assuming that's what's causing the problems)?
other info: the fridge temp hovers around 34 - 36 F, my lines are all 3.5 ft, 3/16 inch ID tubing. This is my 'first rodeo', so apologies in advance if I seem slow on the uptake.